#Marco Polo Bridge Incident

[carbone14]

Sentinelle chinoise sur le pont Marco Polo – Incident du pont Marco Polo (Lugou Bridge Incident) – Wanping – Chine – Juillet 1937

©Republic of China – Ministry of the National Defense

Les troupes de l'armée japonaise du Guandong s'entraînaient le 7 juillet 1937 près de Wanping, à l'extrémité du pont Marco Polo (Pont de Lugou) situé à 16 km à l'ouest de Pékin. Des coups de feu éclatèrent vers 23 h et un soldat japonais manquait à l'appel. Les Japonais demandèrent la permission de fouiller les maisons de Wanping afin de le retrouver, opération qui leur fut refusée par la Chine. Les Japonais saisirent le casus belli pour faire venir des renforts et encercler la ville. Ce fut le point de départ de la seconde guerre sino-japonaise (Source Wiki).

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 8 Matsuribayashi pt. 5

It’s kind of interesting how other countries talk about the second World War you know? I don’t generally read too much about World War II, because I’m well aware of the stereotype about the white guy who knows just a bit too much about it. This does tie in to this particular part of the story, believe it or not.

The Great Patriotic War is the term used by Russia and former Soviet states to refer to their involvement in World War II, if Wikipedia is to be believed.

Thanks for nothing Hitler!

It’s kind of irrelevant to the story, but reading about the actual Marco Polo Bridge Incident was interesting because of the sheer scale of death this particular incident caused the Japanese side. For the purposes of the fictional narrative it’s wild to believe that this one soldier from Hinamizawa caused the death of six hundred and sixty soldiers during the incident. Also it’s kind of wild to assume that Hifumi Takano was present for this, saw it all go down and went “oh yeah, parasites baby.”

Just as a point of interest, reading this scene using the original 2009 MangaGamer translation, it refers to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident as the Roko Bridge Incident. Which according to a brief googling, is not a thing. It just refers to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, and mentions it’s also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident. Just a fun aside for you.

There really isn’t any evidence to support my claims, but I think that the various members who put the kibosh on the elder Takano’s research really were just using the Marco Polo Bridge Incident as a scapegoat to put an end to a line of research they view as general quackery. It happens quite a bit later, but during the disastrous presentation of the research on the Syndrome to the interested members of Koizumi’s organization, Koizumi himself is conspicuously absent. Then the interested party dismisses his research out of hand, but yet later still it’s implied that someone above Koizumi told him to kill the research. So it becomes a major plot point of contention significantly later, but even back during the early to mid-fifties there was considerable push back against this line of research.

I have speculations about Koizumi, and his intentions, but I don’t think I should front load these early sections with thoughts and opinions of plot elements that won’t come up for another twenty hours.

This chapter will be throwing a lot of new names at you, but generally you don’t have to concern yourself with a majority of them. People like Koizumi, you’ll learn to deduce is an important figure, because he keeps returning. But guys like Nakagawa? Don’t bother.

I find the name of the secret project being the Alphabet Project funny because my brother is one of those types who subscribes to the notion that all of modern societies problems are because of the woke. Or “the alphabet community” as his youtubers call them. So I’m amused by the idea of the secret LGBT cabal being interested in chemical weapons way back in nineteen-eighties Japan.

And so Miyo Takano was able to secure the dream of a lot of research scientists: infinite funding for her niche research topic. Even if it doesn't seem entirely on the up and up.

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Festival Accompanying Chapter 6

I wonder how much new research Takano had done that could turn around people into being interested in her grandfather's research. Did she manage to make some great breakthroughs that opened up interest in behavioral changes caused by parasites. Or maybe she's getting research support because she's made herself into a prominent name.

Takano musing about how long ago it was when those men trampled her grandfather's thesis while a different group marveled at it feels like it has a bit of spite in it. If she could, she would probably force those same men to tell her how good her research is.

Dr. Takano has passed away. I felt genuinely sad when that came up. Taht meeting in chapter 5 genuinely broke him and he died despairing his research would never be finished.

Koizumi DID set up Dr. Takano to fail!

Dr Takano's research was discredited and he was set up for ruin because of politics. If his research became public, it could potentially harm Japan's status in international matters.

Koizumi manages to explain the main points about the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. On the night of July 7, 1937, an unknown person fired a gun which sparked the incident and this led to the second SIno-Japanese War which eventually escalated to the Pacific Theater in World War II.

I decided to do a little wiki diving to learn more about the incident. Everything here is just a summary of the Wikipedia article for the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. For several years, Japan had been trying to expand and conquer lands in the Chinese and Korean mainland as well as several islands in the Pacific. Japan had invaded Manchuria in 1931 and it and China had been dealing with constant tensions.

On the night of July 7, 1937, Japanese forces and Chinese forces exchanged fire with each other outside Wanping after Japanese forces stationed at Fengtai crossed the border to do military drills. One Japanese soldier went missing and Japanese forces demanded to enter Wanping to search for him (The man in question later returned to his unit and claimed he had gotten lost after having to step away to relieve a stomach ache).

Japanese infantry attempted to breach Wanping's walls but were repulsed. Both sides began mobilizing reinforcements in response. The mayor of Wanping, Wang Lengzhai, attempted to negotiate peace but the negotiations failed.

A few minutes after Lengzhai returned to the city, a shot was heard and the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin, the first battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War, began.

After a ceasefire had been declared, China was held responsible for the incident. And while attempts to de-escalate were made, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident would be the point where tensions finally broke.

That unknown gun shot is a point of great controversy for all parties involved. Some speculations include it being planned by the Japanese as a pretext for invasion, if it was caused by the Chinese Communist Party, or if it was simply a scared soldier who fired in a panic.

As with every colonizer nation, Japan has a general stance of refusing to acknowledge fault with the incident and the second Sino-Japanese War, and by extension the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, is a major point of contention between China and Japan to this day.

So going back to the chapter. It would be in Japan's best interest to not let Hifumi Takano's research become public. In particular, his research is based on how he noticed there was a higher rate of friendly fire caused by soldiers from the Hinamizawa region. And it turns out one of the soldiers stationed at the bridge was from Hinamizawa.

So that's it. The good doctor's life and work was ruined because the Japanese government wanted to cover up even the possibility of fault with the incident. Part of its standing in the world stage depends on them appearing blameless for the incident and it will go to whatever lengths possible to keep that standing.

And after hearing all this, Miyo Takano stands defiant against Koizumi's threats. The years have changed her outlook on that day the lightning missed. Back then, she challenged god to give her either death or salvation. And when the lightning missed her, she took it as a sign that god would save her.

Now, she seems to look at it as god was going to kill her, but her will made the lightning strike miss. And her will for the future is what saved her. The years have given her the confidence to believe she has the absolute will to change fate, and she can stare down a bullet and expect it to miss.

And in response, Koizumi laughs and offers her his full support.

And the chapter ends with the truth behind Irie Clinic. Through Koizumi's influence, a research facility was built in Hinamizawa with support from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. And to cover up the research, it is disguised as a clinic.

Takano herself is a Major in the Defense force and is ultimately the one in charge of the clinic. And Koizumi brought Irie, Okonogi, and Tomitake along to act as the face of the clinic, the fixer, and the contact. Takano's opinion on Tomitake was that he'd be easy to pull more funds out of. So I guess she's only dating him entirely for her own ends.

back

Spoiler Discussion

Koizumi didn't fire the gun so we won't get to know what would have happened. But late in this arc, Rika and her friends will face down this same scenario. Hanyu will stand in everyone's defense, ready to take the blow. And the bullet will miss.

[biographiness]

On this day on July 7th in history, England faced the Black Death, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident ignited war, and Rwanda’s genocide ended.🌑🔥🕊️

[cutecuttlefish]

The sword of the day is the dadao.

This is a Chinese weapon, and a variant of the dao, or saber. As such, it is a single-edged weapon primarily used for slashing, and this variant in particular features a very broad blade and significant size that allows it to be a formidable chopping sword. It was a peasant’s weapon, and also a relatively recent development; it saw notable use at the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, an altercation between Chinese and Japanese forces that could be argued as the start of World War II. The loose fabric tassel is a feature common on Chinese weapons, and serves a mainly decorative function. Some sources I found claim that it also functioned as a distraction to opponents in combat, but personally I have doubts about its effectiveness in that capacity.

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — July 02-08

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

07-02 → A TikTok account called Ocean Zhang posted an extremely cringey video of Zhang Sanjian dancing with one of the ugly dolls they’re obviously having trouble selling. The account was found to have been made on 06-15 at an IP address located in Taiwan. The IP of the video was California. [source] Given how TikTok’s algorithm works, it’s best to completely avoid it.

→ Gong Jun made it to Jay Chou’s concert in Haikou and even got to sing with him! Videos: [1] [2] [Translation of their conversation] #Gong Jun Jay Chou chorus Hair Like Snow# got on Weibo entertainment hotsearch and #GongJun trended on Twitter.  Fan Observations:  -  He was wearing the Wooyoungmi shirt again.  -  Hair Like Snow was mentioned by Zhang Zhehan as one of his favourite Jay Chou songs, which he had sung himself at a school talent show. The album that it’s on, November’s Chopin, released on 2005-11-01.

→ Gong Jun posted a video of himself at the concert. Caption: “I’m! so! ha! ppy!”

(photo from the fansite Elaine&Pipi)

07-03 → The Legend of AnLe Weibo account posted a video of behind the scenes footage. Caption: “The boat of love makes waves at first sight?! Ren AnLe @Dear Dilireba made a bold move to Han Ye @ Gong Jun Simon, as if he heard someone's heart beating in disorder!” Shortly after, they also posted eight promotional stills of the main cast.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted three promotional stills of Gong Jun in Legend of AnLe. Caption: “Qingming is like a sweet spring, Ye Ran is like a god, hope to meet with his highness @ Gong Jun Simon soon.”

07-04 → #TheLegendofAnle trended on Twitter.

→ Fresh posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

07-05 → The Instagram posted song lyrics.

→ Fresh posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a vlog of him at the Jay Chou concert. Caption: “There is also a chorus without mic, and the enthusiastic audience @ Gong Jun Simon has a full record of the concert!”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a douyin of him singing at the concert. Caption: “@ Gong Jun Simon is confident! (We also have a solo cam!)” (17:05 timestamp and 1:29 long video, if you want to make a 51129 kadian out of that)

07-06 → The Instagram posted pictures of Polaroids. 

→ #ZhangZhehan trended on Twitter.

→ The teashop was fined 129k RMB for excessive packaging in violation of environmental protection laws, violation of food safety laws, engaging in food production they do not have a license for, and failure to correctly label food quantity on packaging, with Chen Bingjun (Chen Liying’s daughter) fined 11k RMB personally.

07-07 → Gong Jun reposted a post from Xinhua News in remembrance of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Added caption: “Don’t forget the national insult, remember the history, and use the deeds of heroes and martyrs to inspire our generation to act bravely!” His studio did the same, added caption: “Follow the right path and strive for self-improvement. Always remember the spirit of the martyrs, and may peace remain forever!”

→ A photographer, Xie Huailiang, made a Xiao Hong Shu post reminiscing about a photoshoot he did with Gong Jun in 2016, saying that Gong Jun hasn’t been changed by the industry and is still very caring and hardworking. His post mentioned Word of Honor as the point Gong Jun rose to fame. Fan Observation: The photographer also previously did a shoot with Zhang Zhehan, and did not delete his post of this after 813.

07-08 → Another Zhang Sanjian TikTok video with content similar to the previous one.

Additional Reading: → Hidden Strike, the Jackie Chan and John Cena action-comedy that Gong Jun played a small role* in in 2018, is now showing in theatres in the US. It will be releasing on American Netflix on 07-28. *He is reportedly only in about the first 20 minutes. → Offline promotions for Legend of AnLe have begun. It seems it really is finally coming soon. 🤞 → Subs are finally being made for Go Fighting! season 9! At the time of this post the first 3 episodes are subbed. [playlist]

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

[falseandrealultravival]

The worst general of the Japanese Army, the demon, Renya Mutaguchi (Logistics-8)

There are three important elements for an army that goes to war. Operations, intelligence, and logistics. If we compare this to a weapon called a spear, the tip would be the operation, the handle would be the logistics, and the arm would be the information. Of course, the tip of the spear should be sharp. Also, the handle that controls supply should be long, and the more accurate the information on the arm, the better.

Here, Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi commanded the major operation "Imphal Operation" relying only on the tip of the hat. Imphal is a strategic military center in East India, and by securing it, the line for sending supplies from India to China can be cut. However, Mutaguchi was swayed by the Imperial Headquarters, who believed that it was impossible to achieve victory in this operation, but he obtained permission. He, Renya Mutaguchi, was a person with strong assumptions, and he believed that he had caused trouble for the country as a party to the incident at the Marco Polo Bridge, which was the flashpoint of the Sino-Japanese War, so he bet on the Imphal operation.

What Mutaguchi decided to do was to traverse the rugged terrain of Burma (some mountains were over 3,000 meters high) before the rainy season and capture the British and Indian bases in Imphal. And the battle-hardened soldiers easily captured Imphal. However, the reality was the opposite of Mutaguchi's dream. When the rainy season arrived and they were riding up a steep mountain, Lieutenant General Slim of the British army learned of the Japanese army's intention to attack Imphal from reconnaissance by airplane and adopted tactics to draw the Japanese army deeper into the area. Originally, Japan was a military that procured food locally, and some generals ignored logistics, but there was no typical person like Mutaguchi.

This operation was guaranteed to fail from the beginning. Lieutenant General Slim used the previously mentioned "spear" theory of accurately grasping the information of the Japanese army and forcing them into a difficult situation with logistics and was able to gain superiority in both logistics and information and completely siege the Japanese army. Of the 100,000 participants, the Japanese military lost 30,000 dead in action, 20,000 evacuated due to battle wounds and disease, and more than half of the 50,000 remaining soldiers were sick. ...Most of the soldiers were on the verge of life and death. The route along which the Japanese army fled was littered with corpses, and was nicknamed the ``White Bone Highway''. During that time, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi was resting in the safety of the rear and had no words to say. It is said that among the soldiers, he was nicknamed ``Demon Mutaguchi.''

日本陸軍最低の将軍・鬼畜・牟田口廉也（エッセイ）

　戦争をする軍隊に重要な要素が３つあります。作戦、情報、ロジスティックです。これを「槍：やり」という武器になぞらえると、穂先が作戦、柄が兵站、腕が情報となるでしょう。槍の穂先はもちろん鋭いのを良しとします。また補給を司る柄は長いことが良く、腕にあたる情報は正確であればあるほどよい。

　ここに、穂先のみにたよって大作戦「インパール作戦」を指揮したのが、牟田口廉也（むたぐち・れんや）中将です。インパールは、東インドにある軍事の要衝で、ここを確保すればインドから中国に物資を送るラインが切断できます。でも、この作戦は勝利を得ることは不可能とした大本営に牟田口は食い下がり、許可を得���しまいます。彼、牟田口廉也は思い込みの激しいひとで、日中戦争の発火点になった盧溝橋事件での事件発生の当事者として、国に迷惑を掛けたと思っていて、このインパール作戦に賭けました。

　そこで牟田口が取ったのは、雨季前を、険しいビルマ（３０００ｍ級の山もあった）の地形を縦走し、インパールの英・インド基地を奪うというものでした。そして百戦錬磨の兵たちがあっさりとインパールを攻略するというものでした。ところが、現実は牟田口の夢想の逆を行くものでした。雨季になり、険しい山を乗り込んできたとき、イギリス軍のスリム中将は飛行機による偵察により日本軍のインパール攻撃意図を知っていて、さらに奥に日本軍を引き込む戦術を取っていました。もともと日本は食糧は現地調達としている軍隊で、兵站を無視する行動を取る将軍はいましたが、牟田口のように典型的なひとはそうはいません。

[hovfire]

learning about the marco polo bridge incident w higurashi

[uncleweed]

The commonly accepted juncture for the start of the Asia-Pacific War is December 7, 1941. Not, however, by one of the more prominent signatory powers upon the document of Japanese surrender: the government of China.

The Chinese generally place the start of the war as July 7, 1937. That is the date of a minor altercation between Chinese and Japanese troops at the Marco Polo bridge, ten miles west of Beijing. Sometimes they also use September 18, 1931. That is when an inconsequential act of sabotage was carried out on a Japanese-controlled railway line near Mukden, Manchuria. These incidents, the Chinese allege, were exploited by the Japanese as a pretext for invasion.

A question that immediately begs is whether it is possible to "invade" a nation in which your troops are already based. The Japanese did indeed "advance with excessive force and intent" into regions of the Chinese landmass to which they had hitherto been absent. Therefore, it could be argued that due to the scope and duration of the advance, "invasion" is the only applicable descriptive term.

But a full reckoning of China's preferred dates must take into account that Japanese troops were already located on Chinese soil. An "invasion" is generally interpreted to be the initial crossing of a national border by an advancing military force. This did not occur in either 1931 or 1937.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.7 (before 1940)

1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks. 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution. 1520 – Spanish conquistadores defeat a larger Aztec army at the Battle of Otumba. 1534 – Jacques Cartier makes his first contact with aboriginal peoples in what is now Canada. 1575 – The Raid of the Redeswire is the last major battle between England and Scotland. 1585 – The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France. 1667 – An English fleet completes the destruction of a French merchant fleet off Fort St Pierre, Martinique during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. 1770 – The Battle of Larga between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire takes place. 1777 – American forces retreating from Fort Ticonderoga are defeated in the Battle of Hubbardton. 1798 – As a result of the XYZ Affair, the US Congress rescinds the Treaty of Alliance with France sparking the "Quasi-War". 1807 – The first Treaty of Tilsit between France and Russia is signed, ending hostilities between the two countries in the War of the Fourth Coalition. 1834 – In New York City, four nights of rioting against abolitionists began. 1846 – US troops occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena, thus beginning the US conquest of California. 1863 – The United States begins its first military draft; exemptions cost $300. 1865 – Four conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln are hanged. 1892 – The Katipunan is established, the discovery of which by Spanish authorities initiated the Philippine Revolution. 1898 – US President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States. 1907 – Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. staged his first Follies on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City. 1911 – The United States, UK, Japan, and Russia sign the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife preservation issues. 1915 – The First Battle of the Isonzo comes to an end. 1915 – Colombo Town Guard officer Henry Pedris is executed in British Ceylon for allegedly inciting persecution of Muslims. 1916 – The New Zealand Labour Party was founded in Wellington. 1928 – Sliced bread is sold for the first time (on the inventor's 48th birthday) by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri. 1930 – Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam). 1937 – The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (Lugou Bridge) provides the Imperial Japanese Army with a pretext for starting the Second Sino-Japanese War (China-Japan War). 1937 – The Peel Commission Report recommends the partition of Palestine, which was the first formal recommendation for partition in the history of Palestine.

[smoothestjazz]

Love the wording here. "Moments before". The poor guy finished this map a millisecond before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

Moments before WW2 breakout in East Asia 1937

[sataniccapitalist]

EXECUTION of Gunkichi Tanaka - Japanese Soldier who BEHEADED 300 People during the Nanjing MASSACRE

Execution of Gunkichi Tanaka Japanese Soldier who Beheaded 300 People during the Nanjing Massacre. 18 September 1931. Japan, seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, invades Manchuria - an industrial area located in Northeastern China known for its rich mineral and coal reserves. In the following years, there will be various "incidents", or armed clashes of a limited nature between the Empire of the Rising Sun and the Republic of China but full-scale war will not break out between the two countries until the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937. This marks the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War that will end only with Japan's surrender on 2 September 1945. During this war, which is the prelude to the Pacific side of World War II, the Japanese army scores major victories, capturing Beijing and Shanghai and in December of 1937, the Japanese military invades Nanjing, then China’s capital. In Nanjing, the Japanese soldiers commit unspeakable atrocities and engage in a campaign of mass killing which over the course of two months will claim the lives of as many as 300,000 civilians and numerous unarmed Chinese soldiers. One of the men responsible for these atrocities is a Japanese Army captain Gunkichi Tanaka.

[devalchineselitblog]

Week 20 Blog 

The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang 

Pages read:81-130 pages

Word Count : 425

Summary(155):When more solider join fight the more there where turned into prisoners and they were promised to get food and work.Many of japanese soldiers who raped women and those women who give birth there child was secretly was taken away from them and was killed.The a person named john rabe a german Nazi party member who was there to lead the nanking safety zone and help the civilan.He turned office and other place a shelter for people to live and give them food.Many japanese solider backed off cause his status as nazi cause them to think before commiting it.After a incident at Marco polo bridge people in naking started to carry around gas mask fearing of japanese poision gas attack.Later the fall of nanking The big trench that chinese has build for tank traps were filled to top with by japanese with the bodies of dead and wounded soliders.

Critical Analysis(141):The Author included this in the book  “Dark times paralyze most people, but some very few, for reasons most of us will never understand, are able to set aside all caution and do things even they could not imagine themselves doing in ordinary times.” because to show the audience that when you are in hard/taught time you may forget what to do and have no idea how to do .But in other situation some other people are kinda the opposite they will do stuff that you can't even imagine to get out of that situation.They are only doing this stuff because they in dark time but if there were not in that situation they probably never think about that.So it just depend what situation you are in and for that reason people brain work different in that times.

Personal Response(129):During this chapter of reading its kinda boring cause it kinda going into more detail of what it said on other chapter and kinda repeating whats happening.So for that reason wasn't a good chapter to read but near the end it was opening new information about some different country and how they are starting to get involve in this story/book.So I think or Hope so they tell more information about how more country got involved and what's the benefits get are getting for doing so.Other than that wasn't much to talk about except one person who is a great/famous person who is helping out in the story and the people are naming their kids on him because that's how much he impacted on people.

[potteresque-ire]

Meta on "propaganda reblogs". This post is Section 3.

1) Introduction: why I am, for once, waving my candy-washing soap 2) Anatomy of a propaganda reblog, Part 1: the midnight timestamp 3) Anatomy of a propaganda reblog, Part 2: the ultrashort response 4) Beyond the propaganda: the significance (and tragedy) of events remembered by these posts 5) Conclusion: The Li Jiaqi Paradox

(Below the cut — Section 3: The Ultrashort Response)

Now, let's take a look at the responses included in the reblogs. Candy washing can be a little unpleasant to read, I understand. I promise it'll be over soon.

The responses are often very short. In today's (2022/08/01) case, there were no added words, just a tag. It's this particular characteristic, perhaps, that has given a false impression to some that these reblogs of propaganda are unimportant — make them appear as if they're just something everyone does, like some (boring) homework everyone just scribbles down a word or two and submits. Gets them over with.

It's ... more complicated than that.

A closer look at the responses, and one will probably notice this: their wording is often a paraphrase of the original propaganda post, with little added information or sentiments. In certain cases, it's a character-by-character duplicate of words in the original post...

Gg's reblogs tend to follow the original post's wording more than Dd. I've underlined, in red, the duplicated wording. In the first post (upper left), which was about the Making of the Communist Chinese Army, the duplicated phrase, 致敬最可愛的人, meant "paying respect to the most loveable people". In the second post (upper right) about the Marco Polo Bridge Incident that started the Second Sino-Japanese War, the duplicated phrases 銘記歷史，吾輩自強 meant "Remember history, our generation shall strengthen themselves". In the third post (lower left) about the Hong Kong Handover, the duplicated phrase simply meant Bless Hong Kong, Bless the Ancestral Country (= China).

Wait, you may say. But doesn't the duplicated wording serve as further evidence that these responses, these reblogs are like ... boring homework?

Hmm. Perhaps, let me offer a counter-example first. What if a star decides to inject more of themselves, of their understanding of the subject, into their response to a propaganda campaign?

This happened just before the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong Handover, a month ago.

The star caught in controversy was Jacky Cheung 張學友, a beloved, and highly respected singer from Hong Kong (he's 60). Asked by CCTV to make a short video about the handover, he agreed and, in his native Cantonese dialect, said the following:

大家好，我係張學友 香港過去25年經歷過好多高高低低起起跌跌 但係因為我係同依個城市一齊成長 我係依度出生，係依度長大 我仍然相信呢個城市 仍然都希望呢個城市會變成一個比以前更加好既城市 香港加油

Hello, I'm Jacky Cheung. In the last 25 years, Hong Kong has gone through many highs and lows, ups and downs. But because I'm growing with this city, (because) I was born here, I was raised here, I still believe in this city, Still wish it'll become a city better than before. Go Hong Kong.

Sounds okay, right? More detailed, more personal than a post reblog. CCTV thought so too, apparently; it approved the video and aired it.

But then, Cheung was attacked — not by his antis (which he didn't have many with his age and status), but by the nationalistic trolls, the "Little Pinks" — and the attack was ferocious enough that CCTV soon had to remove the video.

Cheung's crime, according to these trolls: not so much because he acknowledged Hong Kong had gone through lows and downs; not, even, so much because he said "Go Hong Kong" — an innocuous phrase (as innocuous as its English translation) that the 2019 protestors had just happened to have used.

Cheung's biggest crime was he failed to mention, in the video, 祖國, literally ancestral country and means motherland, or China, and 回歸 return.

Cheung, who lives in Hong Kong and doesn't own a Weibo, failed to grasp the One Message behind China's propaganda surrounding the Handover anniversary. It wasn't about Hong Kong's well-being. It wasn't about Hong Kong's future, or anyone's love for the city. It was about Ownership. It was about the People's Republic of China now possessing Hong Kong.

Why had the opinions of the nationalistic trolls managed to override that of CCTV's? The answer: the dominance of these trolls on Chinese social media has been a signature of the Xi era. With China's heavy-handed censorship in place, voices as loud, as violent as theirs can only remain online if the state offers its implicit approval.

These trolls have served, in their own way, as hounds and spies for the government. They threaten, do the dirty work the state would otherwise have to perform itself. They intimidate fellow netizens to silence in places where censorship isn't quick enough to reach. They report dissenters who have gained influence to the platforms, to the police.

In the end, Cheung was "saved" by the powerful political influencer Hu Xijin 胡 錫進, the former editor of the State Tabloid The Global Times. He defended Cheung's patriotism. Chinese netizens protested, asked why Hu came so quickly to an old Hong Kong artist's defence, while younger, mainland Chinese artists hadn't been given the same understanding, the same accommodation?

Seniority was the likely answer. Traditionally, Hong Kong artists have, also, been given more room to express themselves, with the culture of their home city recognized. But the netizens' observation was not incorrect. A young mainland Chinese artist would've gotten temporarily suspended, at least, for saying the exact same things, starting with the lows and downs.

The Chinese government has always been harsher to those who are closer to it.

In all cases, I hope the Jacky Cheung incident proves sufficient to make this point: public figures in China can say more thoughtful things, more heartfelt things, more sincere things about a political issue than the content on these propaganda posts, and end up being tarred and feathered for them.

As such, the short to the point of curt, the redundantly-worded responses to propaganda posts aren't products of laziness, or lack of care.

On the contrary, they're products of (extreme) caution.

They make sure the message delivered by the star aligns perfectly with the government's. Reblogging the propaganda posts, rather than making one's own posts about the same topic, doubles this safety factor:

The "safety factor" in reblogging state media propaganda posts. In their responses, Gg (top left) wrote 祝福香港，祝福祖國 Bless Hong Kong, Bless the Ancestral Country (= China), Dd (bottom left) wrote 25載春秋可監，祝福香港 25 years of Springs and Autumns for witnesses, Bless Hong Kong. While, like Jacky Cheung, Dd didn't explicitly mention 祖國 Ancestral Country (= China), and while both Gg and Dd didn't mention 回歸 Return, the phrase was already included in the tag #香港回歸祖國25週年 #25th Anniversary of Hong Kong's Return to the Ancestral Country. The graphic (right) further ensured the rebloggers would be viewed as having their messages in perfect alignment with the government's — its Communist Red background was a reinforcing visual that Hong Kong's ownership has been transferred to China.

The caution applied to crafting the responses means that, as is true for the close-to-midnight timestamps, there's ... little sweetness in similarly-worded responses to propaganda posts. Because they're they're statements made in rigid adherence to the state's ideology. Because there's little of the rebloggers injected into them.

Of note: those who read Weibo closely may notice that even the fans follow these subtle propaganda post reblog rules. They reblog the reblogs of their favourite stars quickly, and respond, too, in short, similarly-worded statements. While, with their anonymity, these fans are more likely to treat these posts as boring homework, they're also doing it to protect their favourite stars. As illustrated in Section 1), given that celebrities congregate in these posts, the latter present convenient locations for haters to stalk and sniff for signs of disloyalty, for messages not adhering to the propaganda's theme; for fan-reblog counts failing to match the star's perceived "traffic". The motivation of these haters is simple: in the Xi era, insufficient patriotism is cause enough to rage a cyberbullying storm.

Some of you may have noticed that up till now, in the figures and descriptions, I've left out the most recent propaganda post (2022/08/01) about One China.

The reason is: that post was a slight departure from the standard propaganda reblog, and I'd like to address it separately. Its different-from-usual nature is, I believe, also reflected in the stars' responses.

Unlike the anniversaries which the propaganda posts are mostly about, which the state has already made a clear stance and rhetoric surrounding the mentioned event, this latest post was about a piece of breaking news, an ongoing development with strong elements of unpredictability — not so much on the Taiwan / U.S. side, but on China's side: now that Nancy Pelosi has stepped on Taiwanese soil, will President Xi start a war?

This means the response to this post became more than a contest of speed, of who could reblog faster. It also became a test of who was politically savvy, who could better walk the tight-rope of expressing a firm belief — a commitment to the One China stance — while not letting on anything extra.

Because no one knew what would happen next. Because Pelosi's visit presented President Xi with a dilemma that even the most experienced political analysts could not predict his next actions. Revanchism plays a big part in how the Xi regime fans China's nationalistic sentiments. This is a new word I learned, so I'd write down its definition here to remember it better: revanchism means the "political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country", drawing "its strength from patriotic and retributionist thought and is often motivated by economic or geopolitical factors", and relying "on the identification of a nation with a nation state, often mobilizing deep-rooted sentiments of ethnic nationalism". (Source) Revanchism for China involves, of course, taking back the "lost territory" of Taiwan. It should be a piece of cake, right? Taiwan is tiny, and at the center of the propaganda campaign promoting President Xi's 新時代思想 New Age thoughts are nationalistic slogans like 實現中華民族偉大復興的中國夢 Realizing the Chinese dream of the Great Revival of the Chinese Race, and 東升西降 East rises, West falls.

These slogans, taken altogether, have broadcast to the Chinese people that China, both as a country and a race, has emerged to become the world's superpower, and will soon kick the declining, failing Western democracies off the international stage.

Before Pelosi's visit, China's People's Liberation Army, its Foreign Ministry, its state media have all promised retaliation, with gritted teeth and all, should the visit take place. And after the years of "patriotic education", many Chinese were believed them, were convinced that an armed conflict would happen as soon as Pelosi set foot on Taiwan, that their country would finally flex its mighty military muscles and 武統 — forcibly re-unify — Taiwan, the rogue child who, they say, their loving mother(land) has indulged for far too long. Moreover, these people were convinced that the re-unification would be very speedy, given how mighty China they believe has become.

Attack in the morning, says the most faithful among them, and by 6 pm, Taiwanese will be watching the CCTV's national news broadcast with mainland Chinese.

In reality, experts have doubted that Taiwan can be taken so easily. While China has a much larger military, islands like Taiwan are notoriously difficult to invade — even a TV show from China shot with sponsorship from the People's Liberation Army acknowledged the difficulty of seizing control of an island, hypothetical the island might have been (Ace Troops 王牌部隊, Episodes 35-39). The Taiwan military is expected to get help from the United States, likely in the areas of surveillance and weaponry, especially after the summer of 2022. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has illustrated, too, how unwise it can be to underestimate the will of those whose homeland freedoms are threatened, and who, in Taiwan's case, have nowhere to escape to, being surrounded by the ocean.

(Source — a decent, short summary from BBC about China vs Taiwan.)

Some have also questioned whether China can really afford to start a war, given the rapid loss of confidence by its people towards the country's economy at the moment. While economic downturns and recessions have been ubiquitous around the world, such turn of events may present more problems for China, with the conventional wisdom that a good (prosperous) life is often the implicit social contract between an autocracy and its people — ie. people would only consider the loss of their freedoms worthwhile only if they're given a dependable livelihood. And President Xi can hardly deny his responsibility for the rising doubts: the foundation of China's economy has been reportedly shaky for a while now, and Xi's Zero-COVID policy, his heavy-handed crackdown of the country's most lucrative industries since 2020, have all been pushing, shoving the big, bubbly thing stacked precariously upon it.

The famous Outer Beach 外灘, or the Bund, of Shanghai, deserted during its 4-days-turned-into-2-months lockdown in Spring, 2022 (Source). China's battle against COVID is now widely perceived as having transformed from a public health issue to a political movement, a power struggle — with President Xi's faction insisting on upholding the Zero-Covid policy as an ideology, a showcase of China-Can-Do-Better-Than-the-West; meanwhile, dissenters are concerned about the effects of continued lockdowns and aggressive testing on the already fragile economy. In April, 2022, not a single car was sold in Shanghai, a city of 25 million.

But, how can President Xi save his face should he decide to not wage a war? What about his Chinese Dream then, his Great Revival of the Chinese Race, his rhetoric about avenging every insult China has suffered? What about the declining West? The West hasn't declined nearly enough, apparently, if China proves itself to be too chicken to confront just one of them and over its own tiny island. What will be Xi's basis, his claim for wanting a third term in the office this autumn, which had been against China's Constitution until he removed its presidential term limits in 2018? 10 years in the office, and he has precious little achievement to show for them.

Starting a war is the surest way for Xi to raise his support.

Starting a war is also the surest way for Xi to expose his weaknesses.

Hence, the unreadability of President Xi, the difficulty in guessing his next actions. WWPXD? (What Would President Xi do?)

A propaganda post was published, as expected, on CCTV's blog soon after Pelosi's touchdown in Taiwan, at the earlier-than-midnight time of 22:19, exclaiming that There's Only One China in the World.

Ideally, those must respond to the post could take their time, wait for more events to unfold to respond. See what Pelosi would say to the Taiwanese Congress the next day, for example, or to President Tsai. But antis and melon-eaters and trolls were watching. This presented a challenge — what was the best response one could offer?

Graphic in the propaganda post by CCTV, 2022/08/01. The caption in gold says 世界上只有一個中國, There's Only One China in the World.

If the response expressed a wish for peace — the Chinese Foreign Ministry had accused the United States as being the provocateur, that China only wanted peace and stability in the region — what if President Xi decided to attack Taiwan over the next days? If they responded, instead, with Taiwan being the disobedient child deserving a hard lesson, what if their leader decided to hold off a military assault?

It is impossible for anyone but those involved to know the thought processes of the stars and their teams' had while drafting the reblogs. I can only screenshot the outcome and post here — the responses of four of China's favourite stars:

A tag only, with the exact wording as the tag from CCTV. #只有一個中國 #Only One China.

Loud, but silent. Smart. Safe. United.

A political landmine averted, for now.

** Gently puts down the candy-washing soap **

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The "Propaganda Reblog" Meta Series: 

1) Introduction 2) The midnight timestamp 3) The ultrashort response < YOU'RE HERE 4) Beyond the propaganda 5) Conclusion: The Li Jiaqi Paradox

[romanceyourdemons]

ridiculous to me that snow white and the seven dwarfs (1937), the marco polo bridge incident, and zora neale hurston’s their eyes were watching god are all from the exact same year

[konrul]

After posting this I noticed the inscription on the cloth. So I translated it. After that things escalated quickly: I found out that World War 2 broke out because a Japanese soldier had diarrhea.